The major function of absorbent articles such as disposable diapers and adult incontinent briefs is to absorb and contain body exudates. Such articles are thus intended to prevent body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles such as bedding that come in contact with the wearer. A common mode of failure for such products occurs when body exudates leak out of the gaps between the article and the wearer's leg or waist to adjacent clothing before they have a change to be absorbed within the article. Another common mode of failure occurs when liquids wick out of a liquid soaked portion of the absorbent article along capillary channels.
Contemporary disposable diapers and absorbent pads such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003 issued to Kenneth Barclay Buell on Jan. 14, 1975 entitled "Contractable Side Portions for Disposable Diaper"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,462 issued to Woon et al. on Sept. 27, 1977; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,556 issued to McFarland on Apr. 1, 1986; have a topsheet, a backsheet, an absorbent core, a flexible side flap and an elastic member associated with the side flap to gather the side flap to provide an elasticized leg flap along the longitudinal edges of the diaper. These elasticized leg flaps improve both wearing comfort and the ability of the diaper to contain body exudates by drawing the diaper snugly about the legs of the wearer, thereby forming a seal about the leg to prevent liquid from leaking out of the diaper.
Despite the effectiveness of such structures in containing exudates and providing good fit, body exudates can still leak from the edges of the diaper along the legs of the wearer to adjacent clothing and bedding. Because the side flaps are generally formed of portions of the topsheet and the backsheet that extend beyond the edges of the absorbent core, liquids will tend to flow by wicking through the side flaps to the longitudinal edges of the diaper where they can leak or wick to adjacent clothing or bedding because the side flap provides no barrier to the wicking of such liquids to the longitudinal edges.
Leakage of liquids along the legs of the wearer is further enhanced by the tendency of the elasticized flaps to invert or roll-out and collapse during use. Since the elastic member is secured directly to the backsheet and generally also the topsheet, the backsheet is pre-stressed such that the side flap generally bows or deflects above the surface of the absorbent core to form a boat-like shape along the longitudinal edges. While the side flap is pre-stressed upward during use, the leg of the wearer places forces on the side flap so that the elasticized flap will conform to the contours of the leg. These "in use" forces are opposite of the pre-stressed forces placed on the side flap such that if the "in use" forces exceed the forces "pre-stressed" in the backsheet, the side flap will tend to invert. Thus, the side flap will roll-out or not maintain complete contact with the leg of the wearer thereby allowing large gaps between the leg and the side flap that allows liquids to easily leak out of the edges of the diaper.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article which has improved containment characteristics.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a cuff member which acts as a restraint against the leakage of body exudates.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a cuff member which reduces the potential for roll-out/collapse of a cuff member.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having a cuff member which reduces the potential of liquids to wick to the edges of the absorbent article thereby reducing the potential for liquids to wet the outer clothing of the wearer.
These and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.